Why do we do that?

– Try - Activities © BBC | British Council 2007

Why do we do that? Answers

1. Because sometimes our mistakes are not important, because we are

focussing on other things, e.g. communicating our ideas

2. Because we make some mistakes just because we are tired, for

example, and others are things we don’t understand – these are
more important

3. Because we practice more speaking and listening, and there is more

real communication.

4. Because our teacher sometimes needs to just listen to us and

analyse our language

5. Because it’s difficult to learn lots of words – a few is better

6. Because this is a very good way to remember the word, understand

the meaning, and practice using it

7. Because sometimes learning lots of rules does not help us learn to

communicate

8. Because English is a complicated language with many, many words.

Sometimes we need to check what they mean.

9. Because tests tell us a lot of useful things about what we have learnt
and what we need to learn next

10. Because sometimes learning and practicing is more important than

worrying about passing or failing a test

11. Because it is very useful and natural to talk about other things in our
daily lives.

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Why do we do that? – Try - Activities © BBC | British Council 2007

12. Because we can learn a lot by correcting each other’s language, then
checking with the teacher

13. Because language always changes and grows, and we can always
learn new things

14. Because not all the coursebook is useful – our teacher’s job is to
decide what is

15. Because we need to practice as much as possible outside the class

16. Because if we correct our own mistakes we can remember them and
learn

17. Because if we correct each other’s mistakes together we can

remember them and learn

18. Because there are many different kinds of English and they are all
correct. We learn the English we need

19. Because if we do this then we always think in our first language and
never start thinking in English

20. Because if our teacher explains things in English then we learn

21. Because we can practice the pronunciation of a word together, and

so we can concentrate on the word and not feel uncomfortable

22. Because sometime we get tired and need to move around, and
change places. This gives us more energy.

23. Because we can always learn from other people in the class, and
changing partners means we learn more

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Why do we do that? – Try - Activities © BBC | British Council 2007

24. Because this is very good practice for using them, and it helps us
remember the word. If the teacher just tells us the answer then we
don’t learn very much.

25. Because we can practice our English by talking about problems we

had and finding answers together, then we can check with the
teacher

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